If you need a new book for the summer or your book club, you’re in luck โ author Brad Thor stopped by the 3rd Hour of TODAY to share his book recommendations for July 2025.
His list includes two romance novels โ one set in Hollywood and one about to be turned into a Netflix movie โ and a book that’s a literary hit.
Thor’s latest is called “Edge of Honor” and follows Scot Harvath, Americaโs top spy. In this book, he’s adjusting to a new administration but the same level of danger.
Best thriller
Fade In by Kyle Mills
Best romance
Completely and Totally Fine by Elissa Sussman
As a widowed mother of a rebellious teen, Lauren Parker assumed she had her one chance at true love. That all changes when she meets the dashing actor Ben Walsh. Instant chemistry. Parker soon finds herself questioning how to honor the past while still living in the present.
Alternating between Parkerโs relationship with her late husband and her current one with Ben, Totally and Completely Fine showcases the balance between who you were and who you want to become. If youโre looking for a book to sweep you off your feet, Thor says this one will have you captivated by page one.
Best book to screen
My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan
Soon to become a Netflix film starring Sofia Carson and Corey Mylchreest, “My Oxford Year” follows American Ella Durran as she studies in England on a Rhodes scholarship. Everything on her lifeโs checklist has been going to plan. That is, until she falls in love with her Oxford teacher, Jamie Davenport. When he confides in her a life-alternating secret, Durran must decide between flying back home to follow her political aspirations or standing by the man she loves as he awaits trial.
Best debut novel
Great Black Hope by Rob Franklin
After an arrest for cocaine possession in the Hamptons, Smith, a queer Black Stanford graduate, finds himself torn between two worlds: his class, which protects him, and his race, which does not.
Following the death of his roommate, Smith searches for answers in New York nightlife, anonymous recovery rooms, and courtroom dramas only to discover how little he really knew about his best friend. โEqual parts Truman Capote, James Baldwin, and Elmore Leonard โ Rob Franklin is an astounding literary talent,โ Thor says.
Best read for kids
Some of Us: A story of C
What does it mean to be a citizen? In this book, Rajani LaRocca explores every path to becoming an American, no matter age or background. Written in lyrical prose and illustrated with dazzling mixed-media artwork, “Some of Us” honors us all by celebrating where we came from and where we call home. Thor says this โabsolute gemโ is one that needs to be on every householdโs and classroomโs bookshelf.
